5 best predictions for college football bowl games – Friday, December 17 and Saturday, December 18. What games appear to be the best bets and the best picks?
Bowl Game Predictions, Previews
CFN Experts Picks: Bowls Dec 17-27
CFN Experts Picks: NFL
Bowl Schedule, Game Previews
How Good Is Your Bowl? Ranking all 43
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Even in the best of times trying to bet on bowl games is tricky – teams get out of their respective regular season grooves. In 2020 it was impossible, and in 2021 it’s forget-about-it tough.
But they’re bowl games. You’re going to bet on them.
Trying to navigate through the opt-outs, coaching changes, and relative interest among the various teams, here are five of the best-looking investment opportunities for the first batch on Friday, December 17th and Saturday, December 18th.
Good luck and godspeed.
Click on each game for the preview
5. Coastal Carolina vs Northern Illinois: Tailgreeter Cure Bowl
LINE Coastal Carolina -11
ATS PICK Northern Illinois
How much do you believe that the regular season could carry over into the bowls? If you think that’s possible, then Northern Illinois shouldn’t have a problem covering this.
Those are a whole lot of points to be giving away to the champion of the MAC. Some might be freaked out by the late-season blowout loss to Western Michigan – NIU already had a spot in the MAC Championship wrapped up.
Northern Illinois is a badly flawed team in a whole lot of ways, and there’s reason to be concerned against an ultra-efficient, high-powered Coastal Carolina squad.
The Huskies don’t do much to pressure the backfield, they give up a whole lot of yards, and they don’t come up with enough takeaways or third down stops.
However, they’re great at dominating the time of possession, and they should be able to counteract what Coastal Carolina does by grinding and grinding some more.
The Chanticleers are more fun, more explosive, and more splashy on both sides of the ball, but they also struggled against mediocre team after mediocre team over the back half of the season.
The best win of the year was against … Kansas? Troy? You have as many wins over 2021 bowl teams as Coastal Carolina does.
That doesn’t mean the Sun Belt star can’t and won’t win this, and there’s a historical reason to think there could be a problem for Northern Illinois. The Huskies haven’t just lost their last six bowl games going back to the 2011 GoDaddy.com against Arkansas State; they’ve been annihilated in most of them.
This Northern Illinois is good at making teams play at its pace.
Now, if Toledo has problems in the Bahamas Bowl early on Friday and if Northern Illinois gets bombed on in this, avoid the MAC fast. But until that happens …
11 is a big number to be giving away here.
– CFN Experts Picks: Bowls Dec 17-27
NEXT: College Football Pick Against The Spread No. 4 Oregon State vs Utah State: Jimmy Kimmel Bowl presented by Stifel
4. Oregon State vs Utah State: Jimmy Kimmel Bowl presented by Stifel
LINE Oregon State -7
ATS PICK Oregon State
I’m a registered Power Five snob.
I’m not ashamed of it, and I’ll proudly proselytize to any and all about how much of a difference there almost always is in talent, resources, depth, facilities, and coaching between the Group of Five and Power Five programs.
With that said, I also pumped and promoted the Mountain West over and over and over again all year, especially when it was jumping on the Pac-12’s head.
Utah State was part of the fun in a win over Washington State to open the season, but Oregon State held up the Pac-12’s honor with a win over Hawaii.
The Power Five team is going to care in the first Power Five vs. Group of Five matchup of the bowl season.
You’re absolutely right to always be freaked out when it comes to these types of games. Maybe the Power Five team really isn’t as good as the Group of Five. Or maybe the P5er has my snotty attitude that it’s above a game like this.
Don’t expect that here – Oregon State hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2013. This game is a big deal.
I will warn you with this, though. If you like Utah State – besides just the high-powered offense – Oregon State’s 1-5 record on the road should help your belief system.
On the flip side, I like the Beaver offensive line, the ability to control the clock and game on third downs, and the potential of the running game to go off.
Go ahead and throw in a few Aggie turnovers while you’re at it.
NEXT: College Football Pick Against The Spread No. 3 BYU vs UAB: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
3. BYU vs UAB: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
LINE BYU -7
ATS PICK BYU
I’m more than happy to kick back and eat it if and when I’m wrong …
I think Conference USA is about to get steamrolled over this bowl season.
I don’t like Marshall against Louisiana in the New Orleans; I don’t like Middle Tennessee against Toledo in the Bahamas; I don’t like North Texas against Miami University in the Frisco Football Classic; I don’t like Old Dominion against Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach; I don’t like WKU against Appalachian State in the Boca Raton; and I don’t like UTSA against San Diego State in the Frisco – the other one.
More on UTEP against Fresno State in the New Mexico in a moment.
Of course some of the Conference USA teams are going to get a win – but I’m not entirely certain of that. UAB is added to that mix.
This isn’t an anti-Blazer pick as much as it is a pro-Cougar selection.
Unless you think BYU might be mopey that it’s not in a New Year’s Six game like it deserves to be, the seven it’s giving away is a gift from the gods.
Start with this. UAB is 1-3 all-time in bowl games with the lone win coming against Northern Illinois in the 2018 Boca Raton – because everyone beats Northern Illinois in bowl games.
Last year’s BYU team came into the Boca Raton roaring, and it ripped up UCF 49-23. This year’s version only lost to Boise State and Baylor, beat six Power Five teams, beat the Mountain West champ Utah State team by 14, and UAB beat …
Marshall. UTEP. North Texas. Nice wins, but not quite the same.
BYU is too efficient, it doesn’t make enough mistakes, and it should be able to pound away on the great UAB defensive from enough to control things early on.
Again, this isn’t anything against UAB – it’s good. If the BYU from the regular season shows up, though, winning by more than a touchdown isn’t going to be a problem.
Now, speaking of Conference USA …
NEXT: College Football Pick Against The Spread No. 2 Fresno State vs UTEP PUBC Mobile New Mexico Bowl
2. Fresno State vs UTEP: PUBC Mobile New Mexico Bowl
LINE Fresno State -11
ATS PICK Fresno State
I know, I know, I’m afraid, too.
You always want to tread lightly when it comes to bowl teams with an interim head coach. Fresno State is waiting for the Jeff Tedford era to get back up and rolling with Lee Marks filling in until then.
The program is also waiting to tell everyone whether or not Jake Haener will start at quarterback, or if he’ll be punished for his insolence – he was going to follow former head coach Kalen DeBoer to Washington before coming back to Fresno State.
There are a whole lot of red flags here. However, if this was a normal October game, Fresno State -11 wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
UTEP is a wonderful story. After years of pain and suffering, it’s in a bowl game.
And it lost to Boise State back in September by 41.
It’s got a good downfield passing game and it’s great at controlling the clock. The defense might be just good enough to keep the Fresno State offense from going off.
And it lost four of its last five games, getting rolled by UAB and UTSA along the way.
It really would be cool if UTEP could win this. It would be a massive boost for the program, and especially a fan base that hasn’t known a whole lot of fun for a long, long time.
It’s a chance worth taking, though, that the Fresno State of the 2021 regular season steps off the bus.
– Bowl Schedule, Game Previews
NEXT: College Football Pick Against The Spread No. 1 Jackson State vs South Carolina State: Cricket Celebration Bowl
1. Jackson State vs South Carolina State: Cricket Celebration Bowl
LINE Jackson State -10
ATS PICK Jackson State
Let’s just start with the basics here.
Seriously. You think Deion Sanders – Coach Prime – is about to let his team come into this game flat?
You think after the big day he and the Jackson State program had on the Early Signing Period portion of the recruiting season that his team won’t feast off of the momentum?
South Carolina State is okay.
Head coach Oliver Pough is a legend, his team is bringing a great defense that forces a whole lot of mistakes, and it’s coming to the party with an offensive line that doesn’t allow much of anything in the backfield.
And if you think Sanders and his team is bringing an attitude, that’s nothing compared to what the Bulldogs will arrive with considering all the attention being paid to the other side of the field.
The problem is that Jackson State’s defense is just too good.
The Tigers are No. 1 in the FCS in plays sacks and tackles for loss, No. 2 in total defense, and No. 3 in scoring defense.
This team attacks, attacks, and attacks, and the South Carolina State offensive front is just okay in pass protection.
Jackson State will make this far too interesting for your liking with a few giveaways, but when it has to, that defense is going to rise up and produce.
Bowl Game Predictions, Previews
CFN Experts Picks: Bowls Dec 17-27
CFN Experts Picks: NFL
Bowl Schedule, Game Previews
How Good Is Your Bowl? Ranking all 43
